If I was Invisible
by Ezlyphe
Summary: Spitshot never seems to be noticed around the village. And she hopes nothing happens to change that. Little bit of Tuffnut/OC.
1. Birthday Gift

**Disclaimer:****All fictional characters (except my OC) that make an appearance or are mentioned in this story do not belong to me. They belong to **_**Dreamworks**_**.**

…

**Prologue**

Hi and welcome to Berk. It's an island a few degrees – wait, I'm sure you've heard that part before. In fact, I'm pretty sure you've heard the entire _story_ before. But I'm also pretty sure that you haven't heard it from my view. My name's Spitshot. Lovely name for a girl, I know. But my dad always wanted a son and unfortunately never got one. I was my parents' first and last child; they haven't been able to have any more for one reason or another. And my father hadn't been shy about letting my mother know of his preference for another male to pass on the family name Loughlin. He thinks I don't hear him but I do. Oh well.

I guess you're wondering what I look like, huh? Well, don't get too excited. It's not like I'm the most beautiful girl in the village. In fact, I'm pretty average. I've got brown hair that's borderline red, tied up into two untidy braids that hang limply on the sides of my face. My eyes? They're as dark as coal. Something I hated as a kid but grown to live with as I got older. My nose and ears are bit too big for my face but I don't mind. There are others in the village that are a lot worse off in the looks department. I won't call any names.

My role in the village? I just try to get through life as safely as I can. Which – now that I think about it – is pretty hard to do when you're being attacked by dragons every other night. That's why dragon warriors are being trained younger these days. The attacks seem to be getting more frequent. But me, I'd prefer not to confront the beasts. Sure, they're a nuisance but I think I'd rather leave the dragon fighting up to my more "Viking-like peers". They can handle it. But it seems no matter how much I stress that I don't want to fight or kill dragons, my parents won't get the message.

**Chapter One: Birthday Gift**

Spitshot stretched lazily in her bed and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Though she got a full night's sleep she was still exhausted and a little more than reluctant to get up and do her daily chores. But she knew she had to, so she opened her eyes anyway. She immediately jumped up, startled and pulled her bed sheets up to her chin.

"WHAT IN THOR'S NAME ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?!"

But Spitshot's parents seemed completely unfazed by their daughter's outburst and the smiles remained plastered on their disturbingly over-joyed faces. After she calmed down and got her heartbeat back to a reasonable pace she looked up at her mom and dad, who were still smiling like fools.

"Wha-"

"Happy Birthday, Darling!" Her mother suddenly exclaimed.

Oh. Right.

Today was Spitshot's birthday. Her sixteenth birthday to be precise. Ashamedly, Spitshot had almost forgotten. Birthdays were never that big a deal in the Loughlin household. And she was never greeted with such enthusiasm on her previous birthdays before, so she wondered why they having this awkward moment this year.

"Um, thank y-"

Her father cut her off this time. "And ta celebrate we got ya a present."

_A present?_ Ok, things were just getting plain weird now.

Her father handed her a badly wrapped package and Spitshot took it without saying anything, knowing she would just be interrupted again. She didn't even bother to hide the obvious look of confusion on her face. Slowly unwrapping the present, Spitshot couldn't stop the feeling of dread that bubbled in the pit of her stomach. She finally got rid of all the crumpled paper and lifted the horned helmet with shaking hands.

This could not be good.

"What's this for?" she asked, fearing the answer.

"Dragon training a'course!" her parents responded simultaneously.

The gods help her.

"But I don't-"

"You start today," her mother said, the joy was painfully evident in her voice.

_Today? _The blood drained out of the young girl's face.

"Gobber starts training the other teens this morning and I managed to get you in," her father said, sticking his thumbs into his fur vest and puffing out his massive chest proudly.

_And what better birthday gift for your daughter who hates dragons and fighting than dragon fighting lessons?_ Spitshot thought miserably, peering down at the iron helmet sitting on her lap.

But she didn't have the heart to tell her parents that this was the last thing she wanted. They were too happy. So when they left her room, she got ready and came down into the living area where her parents were waiting, helmet in hand. She had been tempted to throw it out her bedroom's window and claim it lost… but she didn't have the heart for that either. So there she was, trying to mentally prepare for her first day of dragon training.

"Put it on!" her mother squealed.

Spitshot gave her mother a weirded out look. She wouldn't have expected a sound like that to come from such a threateningly large woman. Inga was almost as tall and wide as her husband, who was no lightweight himself. She had long blonde hair, piled on top of her head in a series of intricate plaits. Her face was worn down from years of the lovely Viking lifestyle. Her eyes, though, seemed to be the only warm thing about her. They were two bright blue orbs that showed a certain motherly kindness, despite the years of hard living.

Spitshot definitely took after her father, Dearlaf, though; with his dark auburn hair and beetle black eyes there was no doubt that she was his daughter.

Without saying anything Spitshot put the helmet on. Which she now realized was a bit too big for her after having to push it back just to be able to see.

"Perfect fit," Dearlaf said, beaming. The man was in obvious denial.

"Now off to the Great Hall, Dear," Inga said, ushering her out of the front door. "You get a nice big breakfast so you can have enough energy to train."

Spitshot nodded as her parents gave her their goodbye hugs. When she was a few feet away from the house, she turned back to wave and she could have sworn she saw her mother wiping away tears.

Rolling her eyes, Spitshot continued on her way. That's when she started to formulate a plan. _What if I broke my arm or my legs? Then I wouldn't have to do all this dumb training. How about I just don't show up? Yeah, it's less painful and -_

But Spitshot was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't see the boy that was running in her direction, he was also not paying attention to where he was going. Inevitably, they collided and both fell to the ground with a loud 'oomph'. Spitshot sat up – her head in her hands – and groaned loudly.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" she heard a familiar voice bark.

She looked across from her at the blonde boy that was getting up off the ground and dusting his clothes. Tiny black spots occupied her vision and she had to blink a few times to get rid of them. "S-sorry?"

Tuffnut sneered. "Who are you anyway? I've never seen you around the village before."

Spitshot got off the ground and retrieved her fallen helmet. "I'm Spitshot, remember?" she said, adjusting her helmet on her head.

"Who?"

"Spit. Shot." She repeated her name, this time more slowly as if talking to a child. Tuffnut mumbled something about not being stupid. "I've been living next door to you for the past ten years?"

Tuffnut just gave her a look that obviously showed he had no idea what she was talking about.

Spitshot let out a sigh. "Uh, where's your sister? How is she?" she asked. Since she was here, she thought she had might as well be more neighbourly. They were going to be classmates during dragon training after all.

"What do I look like? Her keeper?" Tuffnut grumbled while walking away. He was clearly finished with the conversation.

_So much for being neighbourly…_

* * *

Spitshot had to almost drag herself out of the Hall after breakfast and towards the cliff that held the training arena. Saying that she was dreading the moment was the understatement of understatements. But she made it. Somehow, her legs managed to carry her up the stone staircase and over the bridge towards her doom. As she neared, she could see the other teens – her classmates – and Gobber. They were all waiting as Gobber fiddled around with the lock on the arena gates.

Standing there was Snotlout, Astrid and Fishlegs. And finally her eyes landed on the Thorston Twins. Apparently they noticed her too because Tuffnut whispered something to his sister while pointing at Spitshot and they both let out howls of laughter.

This got everyone's attention and Gobber looked behind him to see a blushing Spitshot. His face brightened and he gave her a wide smile.

"Ah! Lassie, I was wonderin' when you were comin'."

Everyone turned their eyes to Spitshot and her face flushed. She really wished she were somewhere else right now. Anywhere else. But no one really paid much attention to her anyhow. Snotlout went back to trying to get a date out of Astrid, Astrid went back to ignoring Snotlout, Fishlegs went back to being…well Fishlegs. But the twins continued to look at her and smile nastily. That was never a good sign.

"Alright, get ready!" Gobber said, opening the gates.

_Happy Birthday to me…_


	2. First Day

**Disclaimer:****All fictional characters (except my OC) that make an appearance or are mentioned in this story do not belong to me. They belong to **_**Dreamworks**_**.**

…

**Chapter Two: First Day**

Everyone walked into the arena, looking around in awe. For them, this might have been the most exciting day of their young lives. For Spitshot however, it might have been the worst. As she sulked behind the others she felt shoulders bump rudely into her. She looked up to see Ruffnut and Tuffnut smirking down at her. She scowled but kept quiet; she knew she wouldn't be able to take on either one of them alone but together…that would be like asking for a death sentence.

"I hope I get some _serious_ burns," Tuffnut said.

"I'm hoping for some mauling. Like shoulder or lower back." Ruffnut of course, very lady-like.

"Yeah, it's more fun if you get a scar out of it," Astrid commented sarcastically.

Another voice, somehow even more sarcastic than Astrid's, came somewhere from behind the group.

"No kidding right?" Hiccup said dryly. "Pain. Love it..."

Upon seeing Hiccup, Spitshot couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. He was the last person she was expecting to be there; other than herself of course.

"Oh great!" Tuffnut said irritably. "Who let him in?!"

"Let's ge' started!" Gobber said, limping over to the large steel door. There was loud scraping and banging coming from behind it. There was definitely something big and menacing that was being held at bay. Spitshot took a step backwards, eyeing the door wearily.

Gobber gave a short speech about the kinds of dragons they were expected to face, with Fishlegs putting in his two cents about dragon facts that no one really cared about. Their teacher put a hand on the bar that kept the door closed; the banging and scraping were becoming louder and more urgent.

"Woah, wait! Aren't you going to teach us first?!" Snotlout asked worriedly.

"I believe in learnin' on tha job," Gobber replied, pushing down a leaver. Suddenly the doors burst open. The Gronckle that rushed out was bigger than any other Gronckle that Spitshot had ever laid eyes on and it did _not_ look happy.

Everyone dispersed and ran away in random directions. It was obvious that this was going to be one of those 'every Viking for themselves' moments and Spitshot wasted no time in following suite.

"Today is about survival." Gobber said. "If you get blasted, you're dead. Quick! Wha's tha first thing you're goin' ta need?"

"A doctor?!" Hiccup cried.

"Plus five speed?" Fishlegs suggested.

"A shield!" Astrid said.

"Shield!" Gobber confirmed. "Go!"

Everyone headed towards the pile of shields on the other side of the arena. "If you must make a choice between a sword and a shield, choose the shield." Gobber instructed.

While Spitshot was choosing her own, she noticed that the twins were fighting over the one with flaming skulls.

_Typical_. She thought, rolling her eyes and picking up her shield. And she almost felt sorry for them when the Gronckle blasted the shield right out of their hands with an exceptionally powerful fireball.

"Tuffnut, Ruffnut. You're out." Gobber said and they responded with identically confused "What?"s. "Those shields are good for another thing. Noise. Make lots of it."

Everyone started banging their weapons against their shields and it was taking an obvious effect on the dragon, who just hovered there while shaking its head confusedly. But soon Fishlegs' shield was also blasted out of his hand and he was out too.

"Hiccup, ge' in there!"

Spitshot looked around for Hiccup and found him hiding behind a plank of wood, his shield held out in front of him in a poor attempt of concealment. But she soon realised that it wasn't a good idea to become distracted because her shield went fly out of her hand and smashed to pieces against the wall.

"Spitshot, out."

But she didn't mind and quickly ran away to find someplace safe to hide until training was over. Unfortunately it was also the place where Ruff and Tuff were. She prayed to the gods that the twins would be too busy watching the scene before them to notice her sneaking away. But no such luck. A stray fireball hit the wall above Spitshot's head and she let out a yelp while scrambling backwards, bumping up against Tuffnut.

"Hey wa- Oh! Look, if it isn't little Miss Polite," he said, laughing. His sister joined in but Spitshot found nothing funny about any of this. Not only because they were making fun of her but because she couldn't figure out how they could be laughing at a time like this. There was an angry dragon flying around trying to kill them, for Thor's sake!

"HICCUP!"

Gobber's shout attracted everyone's attention and they saw that the Gronckle was mere centimetres from Hiccup's face. The dragon opened up its large mouth and Spitshot could tell that it was getting ready to fire at the now defenceless boy. Spitshot started to tremble and her heartbeat sped up. _Oh no…_

But thankfully Gobber stepped in just in time to drag the Gronckle away before it could do any harm. After locking the dragon away he turned back to his class who were all creeping away from their hiding spots.

"Remember. A dragon will always…" He turned to Hiccup. "…_always_ go for tha kill."

* * *

After dragon training was over, everyone left and went their separate ways. While Snotlout, Astrid, Fishlegs and Hiccup went in the direction of their respective homes, Spitshot groaned when she and the twins walked the same path home. She'd have to talk to her parents about moving…

Ruffnut and Tuffnut threw insults and snarky comments at her back all the way home. Spitshot tried her hardest to ignore them. She didn't know why they decided to start making fun of her now. She guessed it was because they now noticed her (thanks to trying to being more neighbourly) whereas she was completely invisible to them before. When she finally reached her doorstep she could hear Tuffnut say to his sister "Wow, she _does_ live next to us!"

Rolling her eyes Spitshot just opened her door and slammed it shut to block out the shrieks of laughter that came from her two less-than-friendly neighbours.

"Mom? Dad?" She called out but got no response. "Where are those two?" she mumbled to herself. Her question was answered when she noticed the crumpled sheet of paper on a nearby table. She picked it up.

_Spitshot,_

_Sorry but we forgot to tell you that we're going on a trip. Stoick had a plan to find the dragons' nest and he needed as much help as possible. We'll be back soon. Don't burn down the house!_

She knew it was her dad who wrote the note. Not only because the writing was horrible and darn near illegible but also because he called her Spitshot. The name her mother never called her by (unless she was in trouble, then she would be called her entire name). Inga preferred to use nicknames like 'Sweetie' or 'Dear'.

Spitshot sighed and trudged upstairs to lie down. She plopped herself onto her bed face-first, not bothering to take off her boots. Needless to say, today's events had drained her and she didn't feel like doing anything but sleep. She was even too tired to go into the Hall to get something to eat; her stomach growled angrily but she merely ignored it. Soon she drifted off to sleep.

When she woke up, Spitshot's grumbling stomach had progressed into a full grown stomach-ache and could not be ignored any longer. The pale silvery light from the moon filtered into her dark bedroom and Spitshot knew she had slept through the entire afternoon and would probably be up all night.

She got out of bed and made got up to get something to eat. It was storming outside and Spitshot found it very hard to duck the raindrops that fell, so when she finally reached the hall she was drenched. Even though she couldn't be sure just how late into the night it was, Spitshot had no doubt that the Great Hall would be open. So she pushed open the large doors and went to fetch some meat and something non-alcoholic to drink. The hall was scarce of Vikings and Spitshot was grateful for that. She sat down with her meal as far away from a small group of rowdy, drunken Vikings as possible. What she wasn't expecting was to see Hiccup sitting right across from her.

"Uh…hi," she greeted awkwardly, taking a piece of meat of its bone and stuffing it into her mouth. She didn't have the heart to move somewhere else. Even though he was the most un-liked Viking on Berk, she didn't wasn't him to feel _completely_ isolated.

"Huh? Oh, hey," Hiccup responded, looking up. "Spitfire, right?"

"Spit_shot_," she corrected, taking another bite. Great, even Hiccupdidn't know her name.

"Interesting name," he said with a chuckle.

"You mean like Hiccup?"

"Ha…yeah, I guess Hiccup isn't much better. Hey, I've got the Dragon Manual," he said, holding up the book he was reading. "Do you want to take a look?"

"Oh, I already read it…" Spitshot lied, giving him a polite smile. She was already being forced to go to dragon training. She wasn't going to read unnecessarily on top of that.

Both went silent. Neither really knew what to say; this was the first time they had ever really interacted with each other. So Spitshot continued to eat and Hiccup read.

After he left Spitshot went home and tried to prepare for the next day of training.


	3. Close Call

**Disclaimer:**__**All fictional characters (except my OC) that make an appearance or are mentioned in this story do not belong to me. They belong to **_**Dreamworks**_**.**

**Sorry it took so long for me to update. School has taken over my life pretty much. That and I have lost all of my creative juices (ew.) and writer's block has been plaguing me for months so I kinda threw this together in desperation to update **_**something**_**. So I hope it's not that bad.**

…

**Chapter Three: Close Call**

Spitshot was right. She hadn't been able to get a wink of sleep that night. She was too pre-occupied with thoughts of dragon training and how much she hated it. Sure, she could just stop going or tell Gobber she didn't want to do it anymore but her parents seemed so keen on her doing this. This might be the only way to make her parents proud of her. Although Spitshot wasn't a trouble-maker or anything, she usually just went about her business not doing anything bad but not really doing anything good. And the looks on her parent's faces when they told her they enrolled her into dragon training…

"Ugh!" Spitshot let out a frustrated groan and turned her back to her window and the annoyingly bright rays of sunshine that shone through it. She really hoped someone would come up with a solution to this dragon problem. And soon.

Like yesterday, Spitshot got ready and headed over to the arena after breakfast where she met up with her class. However the arena looked different today. Instead of a large empty space like Spitshot was expecting, there were tall planks of wood randomly arranged around the arena. It took Spitshot awhile to figure out that it was a maze. She looked around, confused by the appearance of the labyrinth but followed everyone in anyway after picking a weapon and shield. She was about to ask Gobber what the purpose of all this was but realized that he was nowhere to be found. It didn't take long for her question to be answered though, because a high pitched howl came from somewhere deep inside the maze.

"Today…" came the disembodied voice of Gobber. "Is all about…ATTACK!"

And as if on cue a Deadly Nadder jumped up onto the top of one of the nearby planks and let out another ear-ringing screech. It didn't take long for everyone to run and hide. Spitshot found a spot behind a random plank. It was utter chaos around her as the Nadder jumped from plank to plank, spitting fireballs all over the place, shrieking and making this an overall unpleasant experience.

"Nadders are quick an' light on their feet." More helpful advice from Gobber. "Your job is ta be quicker an' lighter."

And Spitshot learned this the hard way because no sooner had those words left Gobber's mouth the Nadder was behind her and she had to literally start running for her life. She barely managed to escape the volley of razor sharp spikes that were thrown at her, only because she tripped over her own two feet and tumbled to the ground. She heard snickering and peered up to see two identically obnoxious faces poking out from behind a nearby wall.

She would have been embarrassed but her mind was more pre-occupied with getting away from the dragon. Luckily for her, the noise the twins made got the Nadder's attention and it skidded off after them. Thankful for the distraction, Spitshot sprang up and headed the other way, a look of pure panic frozen on her face.

"Do my parents know what they're putting their daughter through?!" Spitshot asked herself out loud. She looked behind her to see if the Nadder was anywhere near but everything was clear. However not paying attention to where she was running had its drawback because she soon collided painfully with something hard and fell backwards. She groaned and looked up.

"Ugh, why do I keep running into you?!" Tuffnut asked irritably. He had a look on his face that would make someone think he smelled something particularly offensive. But now that Spitshot really thought of it, he always had that look on his face.

He was about to say something else but was stopped by a low, high-pitched growl that came from behind him. He slowly turned and froze. The Nadder was a few feet away, its head was moving around slowly, as if it were looking for something.

Tuffnut's breath came in short, shallow gasps and his mouth was steadily opening wider. Spitshot was certain he was going to scream and doom the both of them. So she did what she had to do. She scrambled off the ground, flung her arms around Tuffnut's shoulders and placed both hands, palms down, over his mouth. They stayed in this position for a while, too scared to move. Spitshot was sure they were in the Nadder's blind-spot so it couldn't see them.

_So we're safe. Kind of. _The Nadder started to gradually walk forward. _Ok maybe not_.

Spitshot squeezed her eyes shut and started a silent prayer to the gods. She was sure this would be her last day. Would her parents be able to identify her remains? Would they feel bad for making her fight dragons? She hadn't even had her first kiss yet…

A loud crash came from somewhere behind the Nadder and without so much as a pause, it quickly turned and dashed after whatever – or whoever – it was that created the noise. Never had Spitshot been so thankful for short attention spans. She moved her hands away from Tuffnut's mouth but kept her arms on his shoulders and even leaned against him. Her heart was racing, her mind was reeling, her body was weak and right now she needed the support.

"Well ain't that just the cutest thing…"

Spitshot's eyes wearily lifted to see a very amused Ruffnut.

_What is she smirking at?_

The thoughts in Spitshot's head were so muddled, it took a while for her to realise that she still had her arms around Tuffnut. But he quickly pushed her off when his sister started laughing. He walked away with his head down, grumbling something incoherent as he passed Ruff, who just laughed harder. She gave Spitshot one last look before turning and walking behind her twin. Spitshot just stood there for a few minutes, not sure of what had just happened. But she shrugged it off as the twins just being their usual abnormal selves.

It was, at the moment, oddly quiet for an arena that held an angry Deadly Nadder and seven bite-sized Viking teens, so Spitshot made her way out of the maze to find that everyone else including Gobber had gathered where they started. The Nadder was (thankfully) locked away and Spitshot came out just in time to hear Astrid telling Hiccup off.

"Is this some kind of a joke to you?! Our parent's war is about to become ours," she said, jabbing an axe (that oddly enough was lodged into a bit of wood) dangerously close to his face. "Figure out which side you're on."

And with that she walked off, leaving Hiccup on the ground, looking a bit broken and no doubt embarrassed.

That night, as Spitshot lay awake in her bed, she couldn't get Astrid's words out of her head.

_A war? It couldn't be that serious… could it?_

But her train of thought was interrupted by a sudden crack of thunder that was soon followed by a bright flash of lightning. She groaned in annoyance and got up to look outside her window. Rain pelted the glass with abandon. It looked like the residents of Berk were in for another storm. There was no way she was going to be able to sleep now, so she made her way down the stairs to search for candles. She figured she could keep herself busy with something until the storm was over. Maybe read a book, that'll probably get her to fall asleep.

Ten minutes of searching proved that the house was currently candle-less. "Wasn't dad supposed to get some?" she asked aloud, going back upstairs. She came back down with her coat on. It looked as though she would have to go next door and ask to borrow a few-

Wait.

She froze with her hand on the door knob. Next door? Her neighbours…the Thorstons. Or more importantly…the Thorston twins. Spitshot cringed at the thought of having to go over to her least favourite people's home but another crack of thunder reminded her that the storm was still going strong and showed no signs of leaving anytime soon. On top of that, there weren't any other neighbours close enough and she wanted to spend as little time in the rain as possible. It had to be done.

She opened the door and made a mad dash for the house a few feet away from her own. She knocked on the door and shuffled from foot to foot anxiously. _Maybe if I make this quick…_ The door opened and a woman poked her head out. When her bright blue eyes landed on Spitshot her face broke out into a smile.

"Oh, Inga's little girl," she cooed, opening the door wider. "What brings you here?"

Mrs Thorston was a very beautiful woman. With her shapely figure and pretty face framed with a waterfall of golden hair, Spitshot had no problem believing that she was the most sought after Viking female back in the day (she had been told stories of it by her mother). Now that Spitshot thought of it, Ruffnut favoured her mother a lot, except Mrs Thorston wasn't as abrasive.

"I just needed to borrow a few candles," Spitshot said "We're out you see and I-"

"Why don't you stay?" she suddenly asked, pulling Spitshot into the house.

"Wait. What?" Spitshot asked in confusion once Mrs Thorston closed the door. "I-I can't! I have to…"

"Well I can't just leave you all alone. What kind of neighbour would I be?" She began walking upstairs. "I'll call Ruff down. You two are friends right?" She asked over her shoulder. But she didn't wait for a reply and was gone before Spitshot could respond with a very strong 'no'.

Lovely.


	4. Sleepover

**Disclaimer:****All fictional characters (except my OC) that make an appearance or are mentioned in this story do not belong to me. They belong to **_**Dreamworks**_**.**

**Once again thanks for the reviews. They are what keep me motivated to continue. Seriously, I see them and I get so happy that people are actually reading and liking the crap I put out. :'D**

…

**Chapter Four: Sleepover**

So.

There she was.

And she wished she could be anywhere else.

Spitshot had been sitting inside the Thorston's living area for about five minutes now, still not completely sure of how she ended up staying the night when she just came over for a few candles. Mrs Thorston was upstairs getting Ruffnut, leaving Spitshot to sit alone in a slightly uncomfortable silence. To pass the time, she took to looking around the house. It was…nice. Definitely not the picture one would have in mind when thinking of Ruffnut and Tuffnut.

She heard shuffling and mumbles near the top of the stairs and Ruffnut soon came down, closely followed by her mother. "Mom, what are you talking about, Astrid isn't…"

She stopped as soon as her eyes landed on Spitshot, who gave her a sheepish grin.

"I thought you said my _friend_ was here…" Ruffnut frowned, giving Spitshot a look that showed she was obviously not happy with her presence. The smile quickly slid off of Spitshot's face.

"Be nice Ruff," her mother warned. "She's going to spend the night. And she's staying in your room. The storm is absolutely horrid and I don't want her to be alone."

Ruffnut gave her mother a look of utter disbelief and opened her mouth to protest but her mother gave her a look that quickly made her change her mind. "Come on…" Ruffnut grumbled, stomping back upstairs.

Spitshot sat there uncertainly for a second, wondering if she'd regret following Ruffnut. It was never a wise choice to follow Ruffnut. Anywhere.

"I SAID 'COME ON'!" Ruffnut yelled, causing Spitshot to jump up and practically sprint behind her.

In no time they reached Ruffnut's room. But before Ruffnut opened the door she turned to Spitshot with a frown. "I… don't want you here."

Really? Spitshot couldn't tell.

"But because my mom seems to think we're 'buddies'." She rolled her eyes. "I'll try to be civil."

With that Ruffnut opened the door and stepped aside to allow Spitshot through; but as soon as Spitshot walked in, Ruffnut stuck out her leg, causing Spitshot to trip and fall rather paonfully to the floor.

Ruffnut laughed. "Well, I tried."

"What the heck was that?" Tuffnut was passing the door when he heard the noise and was now standing in the doorway, peering inside.

"None of your beeswax," Ruffnut said, shoving Tuffnut away. He was trying to see into the room but Ruffnut was blocking his way. He gave her an annoyed grunt and she responded with a smile. She really enjoyed being difficult.

"Is there someone in there? Who is it?"

"It's just Spitshot," Ruffnut finally said, rolling her eyes and walking into her room. She jumped onto her bed, apparently done and bored with their conversation.

Tuffnut stared down at Spitshot – who was still sitting on the floor – and made a face. "What's _she_ doing here?"

_I wish I knew…_ Spitshot thought to herself, getting up.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" Ruffnut shot from her spot on the bed after she realized her brother was spending way too much time in her room. "Go away."

"Make me." Tuffnut challenged. He never missed an opportunity for an argument.

Ruffnut scowled and held up the axe that she had started to sharpen. She never missed an opportunity to injure her brother.

"Fine," Tuffnut said, eyeing the axe cautiously. "But don't think it's because I'm scared or anything!" And he slammed the door shut.

_Why is it always like this with them?_ Spitshot thought, looking back at Ruff who continued to happily sharpen her axe as though nothing had happened.

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

"I bet she couldn't." Ruffnut snickered.

"I _know_ she couldn't." Tuffnut countered.

"Of course she couldn't! Look at her arms."

"I know. They look like twigs."

"I don't think twigs are even that pathetic."

Once again Spitshot found herself in an unfortunate predicament; although this time, she had to admit that she was partly to blame. She should have known better than to make herself noticeable around the twins. With those two it was best to blend into the background as much as possible. She learnt that after witnessing years of their torment on Hiccup.

She was trying to lift a box. A particularly _heavy_ box at that. But this wasn't a spur of the moment, I'm-in-the-heavy-box-lifting-mood kind of thing. Mrs Thorston needed help with moving some things around the house and asked for Spitshot's help. And Spitshot, wanting to be neighbourly, obliged.

It was when she attempted to lift said box and ultimately failed – dropping it and sending it crashing to the ground, its contents spilling over – when the twins sauntered in just in time to watch the scene. That gave them a whole list of new material for them to make fun of her. So they spent the last five minutes or so following Spitshot around the house and loudly listing off other things that were probably too heavy for her to lift.

She also should have known better than to entertain the twins' taunting. People around the village have seen how rough they can be when they get on each other's cases, so there's no doubt they would completely annihilate anyone else. But the words slipped out of her mouth before she even had time to rethink her actions. "I'm not weak."

Of course she knew those words were nothing but blatant lies. Maybe compared to someone who _wasn't_ a Viking, she could be considered 'strong' but when matched up against another Viking (namely: the Thorston twins) she wouldn't stand a chance; which brought back to her the question of why her parents thought it a good idea to enrol her in dragon training.

"Oh?" Tuffnut said in a mocking tone as he stalked over to her. Once he was standing directly in front of her, Spitshot realized just how much taller he was than her, her head barely reached his chin. That was also when she realized just how bad an idea her outburst was.

"Hit me."

"Huh?" Spitshot couldn't believe her ears. Did he just tell her to hit him? Actually _hit_ him? He couldn't be _that_ much of a brute…

Could he?

"You heard him," Ruffnut provoked, grinning nastily. "Unless…"

"You can't?" Tuff finished his twin's sentence with an even nastier grin.

This time Spitshot kept her mouth shut and said nothing. Not that it would better the situation.

Tuffnut sneered. "Oh look… she's gone all quiet on us now."

Spitshot tightly shut her eyes.

"C'mon, I'll make it real easy for you." Tuffnut put his hands behind his back and stuck out his chin.

She lifted her arm.

"I probably won't feel a thing," he said with a smug smirk.

And before she knew what was happening, Spitshot punched and felt her fist collide with something hard and heard a sickening 'crack'. When she opened her eyes she was met with the sight of Tuffnut lying on the floor with his face in his hands. His helmet had fallen off of his head and rolled a few feet away from where he lay. The room was filled with stunned silence for a few seconds before Ruffnut let out a shrill shriek of laughter.

"Ha! Who's the pathetic one now?"

Spitshot looked down at her still balled fist in disbelief and then at Tuffnut, opening her mouth to say something but no words came out to express her surprise. She hadn't meant to hit him that hard. She didn't even know she _could _hit him that hard!

Tuffnut shot Spitshot a death glare and quickly retreated, nursing a bloodied nose and muttering various curses under his breath. Once Ruffnut finally calmed down from her laughing fit she put a hand on Spitshot's shoulder and gave her an impressed look.

"You know, Spit, you're not half bad."

Spitshot wasn't sure whether to think of that as a good or bad thing.


	5. Payback

**Disclaimer:****All fictional characters (except my OC) that make an appearance or are mentioned in this story do not belong to me. They belong to **_**Dreamworks**_**.**

**Wow, I haven't updated in months. And I really do apologize for that. Life has been pretty hectic and writer's block on top of that made it pretty hard to write. But I was finally able to write and finish this chapter, so I hope you enjoy. (And for the long wait, I made it a little longer than usual).**

…

**Chapter Five: Payback**

Spitshot left the Thorston's home the very next morning in a less than joyous mood. Her parents were still on the hunt for the dragon's nest, she was still terrified of dragons and her chores were starting to pile up. In fact, the only thing she was grateful for was the fact that there was no dragon training today. Instead, there just a meet-up with Gobber later that night. She learned that from Mrs Thorston right before she sprinted through the front door.

Having nothing else to do, the young Viking walked. Where was she going? She wasn't exactly sure. She just wanted to get as far away from the twins' home as quickly as possible. And as always, she walked alone. Of course, Tuffnut didn't want to be anywhere near her and Ruffnut decided tormenting her twin would be more entertaining than hanging around Spitshot. Not that she was too keen on spending time with either of them anyway.

Punching Tuffnut had been a terrible mistake, she admitted to herself. A terrible mistake she hoped she wouldn't regret in the near future. Though in her defence, she did try to make things better by offering to help clean the bloodied mess that was Tuff's nose. But he had viciously refused. And whenever she tried to apologize, he would just glare and walk away. She could have sworn he actually growled at her once.

"Idiot!" she yelled, slapping her hand against her forehead in frustration. This caused a group of passing Vikings to stare at her as though she were crazy. Spitshot ignored them.

She aimlessly walked around the village, thoughts of what Tuffnut might do occupied her mind and they made her slightly nauseous._ What if he wants to get back at me now? Of course he would! But what would he do? How bad could it be? He wouldn't _kill_ me. …Would he?_

Spitshot was passing the docks when she caught a glimpse of long blonde hair out of the corner of her eye. She stopped and looked closer to see that it was Ruffnut, along with her twin. Snotlout was there as well. They were standing together and seemed to be in deep conversation. Not wanting to be seen, Spitshot hid behind a nearby tree.

"Whoa, man! What happened to you?" she heard Snotlout ask rather loudly. He was pointing at Tuffnut's face. Or more specifically, his nose.

"I fell…" Tuffnut grumbled irritably, shoving Snotlout's hand away.

"Yeah, into Spitshot's fist." Ruffnut countered, giving her brother a smirk when he scowled at her.

"What!" Snotlout practically yelled in shock. "You let Spitshot hit you?! _Spitshot_?! Little runt, about this tall..." He held up his hand palm down and a little below arm level to illustrate his point.

Spitshot huffed. She wasn't _that_ short.

"It was a lucky shot!" Tuffnut exclaimed. His hands were balled into fists at his sides.

"Not that lucky for you."

Tuffnut glared daggers at his sister and was just about to swing at her when Snotlout spoke again. "You're not going to let her get away with it are you?"

Both Tuffnut and Spitshot replied with perfectly synced "Huh?"s.

"Yeah," Snotlout continued, to Spitshot's dismay. "I mean, you can't let a pipsqueak like her hit you and not pay for it!"

Tuffnut rubbed his chin in thought as the colour in Spitshot's face slowly faded. Sure, Tuffnut was angered by the punch, enraged even; however the thought of revenge uncharacteristically hadn't crossed his mind.

"You're right." Tuffnut decided after a few seconds.

"He is?" Spitshot whispered in horror, her legs already starting to shake.

"I am!" Snotlout reassured, moving in closer to Tuffnut. "And I'll tell you how…"

Spitshot couldn't hear the rest of the conversation because they started to only whisper and mumble to each other. But whatever it was they were scheming, Spitshot knew it wouldn't be anything in her favour. And the worryingly gleeful look on Tuffnut's face as they talked only confirmed her fears.

It was at that moment Spitshot decided Snotlout was _not_ her favourite person.

* * *

"I'm dead," Spitshot groaned for about the tenth time that afternoon. "So very, very dead."

She was sitting out in the fields where the village sheep were usually left to graze. She figured it would be the last place Tuffnut would look for her. For now, anyway. She had spent most of the morning avoiding him. Leaping out of pathways when she thought she heard his voice, hiding behind buildings and other villagers when she could have sworn she caught sight of him and generally just going out of her way to make herself not noticeable. This really just ended up making her appear crazy to everyone else. She also stayed as far away from her home as possible. That would make it _too_ easy to find her.

Her head was hung low, supported by her hands that covered her face and her elbows propped up on her knees.

"Baa…"

Spitshot peered up to see that one of the lambs had strolled over to where she was sitting and was now staring up at her curiously. She gently stroked its head to which it responded with a happy bleat.

"Life would be so much easier if I were a sheep." She muttered miserably.

"What was that?"

Spitshot jumped up in surprise and quickly scrambled off of the ground, turning towards the source of the voice. She felt her heart drop.

"H-hi Ruffnut," she greeted nervously, inching away as the tall blonde came to stand next to her. "I was just…talking to myself...you know…daydreaming," She let out a nervous chuckle. "But I…have to…go." She started to run away but was caught around the shoulders by Ruffnut's arm.

Spitshot winced at the physical contact as though Ruffnut's hand was a searing hot metal plate. Her eyes shut close and her body tensed as if preparing to be hit. The scenario played out clearly out in her mind: Ruffnut holding her in place while Snotlout and Tuffnut stalk out somewhere from behind a tree, evil grins on their faces and manic glints in their eyes. She could practically feel their unyielding punches…

_I wonder how many stitches I'm going to need after this. Is it over yet? Ow, ow, o…Why am I not in pain? _Spitshot slowly opened one eye, then the other and breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that neither Snotlout nor Tuffnut were present to beat her to a pulp.

"What are you doing?"

Spitshot was quickly snapped out of her silent rejoicing by Ruffnut's question. "Please don't kill me," was the first thing that came to her mind and out of her mouth.

"I'm not going to kill you," Ruffnut replied, rolling her eyes.

Spitshot started to relax but a thought occurred to her. "What about Tuffnut and Snotlout?" Ruffnut didn't say _they_ weren't going to kill her.

"What about them?" She paused before giving the terrified redhead a sly grin. "I thought I saw you hiding behind that tree. So you heard them, huh?"

Spitshot nodded glumly. "Is Tuffnut really going... to..." She trailed off, afraid to finish her sentence.

"Yep."

Spitshot groaned. "So what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to help you."

Spitshot stared at the blonde in disbelief. "You...You're going to help me?" Her disbelief quickly turned to distrust. "Why?"

Ruffnut gave a casual shrug as her response. "Anyone who can give that idiot I call a brother a bloody nose is alright in my book."

* * *

"Where is she?"

"I don't know. We've been looking for her all day."

Tuffnut and Snotlout lumbered through the village, their mission clear: find, capture and exact revenge on Spitshot Loughlin. Somehow she managed to evade them for most of the day but now that Tuffnut was focused on what he wanted to do, he was determined to find her. He was brought out of his thoughts when Snotlout shook his shoulder.

"What?" Tuff asked irritably, looking up.

"There she is," the stocky brunette stated, pointing off in the distance.

Tuffnut squinted in that direction and sure enough, there was Spitshot standing with her back to them and looking around as though she was waiting for something.

"Let's go," was the only thing Tuffnut said before he broke off into a sprint towards Spitshot, with Snotlout close behind.

Spitshot heard them coming up behind her and without looking back began running. The two boys were so caught up in their pursuit they didn't realize that Spitshot was purposefully leading them out of the village and into a nearby forest.

_I really hope this works_, Spitshot thought, taking a sharp turn. Snotlout and Tuffnut followed suit and without warning found themselves tangled together and hovering above the ground in a large fishing net. The stayed there stunned for a moment before struggling to get out of their bonds.

"Hey!" Tuffnut yelled. "Get us down!"

Spitshot stood a good distance away from the trapped teens. Ruffnut somehow persuaded Hiccup to help them set up the trap; neither she nor Ruff had the ability to set up such a thing. Spitshot nervously watched them thrash about and struggle, hoping to all gods that they weren't strong enough to break free. Ruffnut soon joined her and walked right up to Tuffnut.

"You…" Tuffnut spat, glaring at his twin. "Let us go."

"I'll let you go after you promise to leave Spitshot alone."

"What! Why?! She hit me!"

Ruffnut scoffed. "As if you didn't deserve it. But I'm warning you, leave Spitshot alone."

"Or what?" Tuffnut countered.

"Or I make your life a living hell."

With the look on his sister's face, Tuffnut had no problem believing she would. "Alright! Alright! I'll leave her alone," Tuff said, rolling his eyes. "Just get us down."

"What about you, meathead?" Ruff asked, looking at Snotlout.

He hurriedly shook his head. "I won't bother her either. Cross my heart."

Satisfied with their answer, Ruffnut cut the rope with a small knife she pulled out of her boot and Snotlout and Tuffnut fell to the ground rather painfully.

"Good."

Tuff and Snotlout picked themselves up and shambled back to village.

"What was the point of all that?" Spitshot asked, watching them leave. "Was the net really necessary?"

"Of course it was. Boys are stupid; you gotta let 'em know who's boss. And the only way…" she pounded her fist in her hand. "…is with brute force."

* * *

Later that evening when the sun had set the six dragon-fighters-in-training and their teacher were sitting on one top of the many tall stone pillars on the far side of the village. The pillars were reconstructed so that their tops held spot-light posts. A chill fell over Berk once night came but the large bonfire kept the group warm. Spitshot – from her spot between Ruffnut and Fishlegs – glanced over at Tuff, whose eyes were fixed on the fire. He seemed determined not to acknowledge her. For reasons she couldn't explain, that made Spitshot a little sad. But she quickly shook the feeling off. _Why should I care if he's ignoring me? Just as long as he isn't trying to kill me._

"Did I ever tell tha story of how I lost my arm and leg?" Gobber asked, picking up a chicken that was roasting on the fire.

The group all shook their heads 'no'.

"Well," Gobber started, leaning in closer. "It all happened when I was a teen – not too older than you lot. There was a raid; the dragons were after our sheep and terrorizing the village. A course I was in the midst of it all, hackin' my way through the beasts. I was so busy fightin' off a Deadly Nadder I didn't notice the Gronkle sneaking up right behind me.

"With one twist he took my hand and swallowed it whole. And I saw the look on his face. I was delicious," Gobber gave a little chuckle. "He must have passed the word because it wasn't a month before another one of them took my leg."

"Wow," Fishlegs breathed in amazement. Everyone else muttered their agreement.

"Don't worry, Gobber. I'll avenge your beautiful hand _and_ your beautiful foot," Snotlout exclaimed, waving around his roasted chicken on a stick. "I'll chop off the legs of every dragon I fight. With my face."

Gobber shook his head. "It's the wings and the tail you really want." He illustrated this by tearing off the wing of his roasted chicken. "If it can't fly, it can't get away. In other words, a downed dragon is a dead dragon."

Hiccup's eyes widened at Gobber's last words but he remained quiet.

Gobber yawned and stretched. "Alright, I'm off ta bed. You should be too. Tomorrow we get ta the big boys."

Everyone else appeared very interested and even excited but Spitshot groaned inwardly. Just what she needed: bigger, stronger and scarier dragons. Spitshot sat silently while the rest discussed the successful trainee who would have the honour of killing their first dragon in front of the entire village. ("It's gonna be me," Tuffnut proclaimed proudly. "It's my destiny.") Unknown to them, Hiccup slipped out of his seat and quietly made his way down the stone steps. The only one to notice was Astrid, who stared at the boy's retreating figure. But once Hiccup was gone she shook her head and turned her attention back to the conversation.

Once everyone finished eating and talking, they made their way down the pillar's steps and to their respective homes. Spitshot wasted no time in getting to her own home and went straight up to her room when she got there. She kicked off her boots and took off her helmet, placing it on a small table next to her bed. She lied down on her bed and pulled the covers all the way up to her chin. One last thought of Tuffnut and fishing nets and dragons passed through her mind before she rolled over and fell asleep.


	6. Girl Talk

**Disclaimer:****All fictional characters (except my OC) that make an appearance or are mentioned in this story do not belong to me. They belong to **_**Dreamworks**_**.**

**Once again, thanks for the reviews/favourites/story watches. Thanks for taking an interesting in my little story. (:**

…

**Chapter Six: Girl Talk**

Regular training went on as scheduled the very next day. At this point Spitshot decided to suck it up and just accept her fate. She wasn't a _complete_ failure at dragon training. After all, she got this far didn't she? So she would finish her training, with as little complaining as she could manage. It wasn't as though she would shoot to the top of the class and kill a dragon in front of the entire village. So there would be no harm is just going along.

Normally – as much as Spitshot hated being in the same breathing space as any type of dragon – if she absolutely had to, she wouldn't mind facing one as long as she was armed with a weapon. An axe, a sword, a shield. Heck, even a large enough stick would do. But with today's warhead being a mere bucket of water for each of the students, Spitshot was more than a little worried. And Gobber's nonchalance about the situation wasn't helping in the slightest.

"A bit of knowledge for you lot: a wet dragon head can't light its fire," he explained with his hands casually placed behind his back as he sauntered around the group. The sound of a gate clinking open could be heard and the arena instantly began to fill with a thick cloud of odourless gas.

"The Hideous Zippleback is extra tricky. One head _breathes_ gas and the other head _lights it_!"

Now the gas blanketed the group and Spitshot found it hard to see her hand in front of her face. She also found that everyone else had inadvertently paired off, leaving her on her own.

"Your job is to know which is which," was the last thing he said before leaving the young Vikings to their own devices.

The Zippleback was growling. It was low but high-pitched, causing Spitshot's skin to crawl. She began to shake violently and water sloshed out of her bucket and onto her hands and boots. _Okay Spitshot, just calm down. There's only one of them and seven of us. Well, really _two_ of them. And I'm pretty much on my own right now. _If Spitshot was trying to ease her apprehension, she wasn't doing a very good job.

The growling was getting louder and through the fog, Spitshot could make out the Zippleback's horns, its massive head slowly rising up…

Spitshot let out a squeal and, closing her eyes, threw the contents of her bucket onto the dragon, hoping to Odin that she got the right head.

"Hey!" a very non-dragon voice shouted out. Spitshot peeked up to see that her life wasn't in danger due to a two-headed dragon, although the very wet and very annoyed Ruffnut didn't make her feel particularly safe either.

Spitshot immediately dropped her empty bucket. "Heh, sorry."

Before Ruffnut could say anything else she was doused with another face-full of water, with Astrid and Spitshot getting a good splash as well. The culprit this time was Snotlout, who had Tuffnut right behind him.

"It's us, _idiots_!"

"Your butts are getting bigger," Tuffnut smirked. "We thought you were a dragon."

"Not that there's anything wrong with a dragon-esque figure," Snotlout said in a failed attempt to be smooth.

Tuffnut's comment was rewarded with a bucket to the face, courtesy of his sister, while Astrid promptly punched Snotlout. Spitshot just stayed rooted to the spot, her eyes nervously darting around. Wasn't there a Hideous Zippleback they were supposed to look out for?

As soon as Tuffnut hit the ground he was roughly pulled backwards into the smoke. His panicked screams could be heard and Ruffnut moved to go in after him. But Astrid put out an arm to stop her. "Wait."

Spitshot could see a long, scaly green tail creep out from somewhere behind the two girls but before she could warn them, it tripped them up. Soon after, Tuffnut scrambled out of the fog, not caring that he literally stepped over his sister to get out of the way. In any other situation, Spitshot would have found it hilarious the way he was howling "Oh I am hurt! I am very much hurt!" but now was not the time for laughing. The Zippleback was close.

"Chances of survival are dwindling into single digits now," Fishlegs said worriedly, cradling his bucket close to his chest. Hiccup merely gulped.

_When did those two get here?_

One of the Zippleback's head snaked out from a curtain of smoke, eyeing Fishlegs hungrily. It slid straight up to the pudgy Viking, who panicked and dumped the water from his bucket onto the dragon. The Zippleback gargled while green gas poured out of its opened mouth.

"Oh," Fishlegs piped, chuckling nervously. "Wrong head."

While Fishlegs ran away, screaming at the top of his lungs, the Zippleback head turned its attention to Hiccup as its twin made an unwanted appearance and started to click its teeth together, creating sparks. With all of his might, Hiccup heaved his bucket upwards but his effort was for naught. The water barely raised a foot into the air before splashing back down to the ground.

"Aw, come on…"

"HICCUP!" Gobber shouted and for the first time he actually looked terrified.

But Hiccup didn't seem to need rescuing. "Back, back!" he suddenly ordered. And to the surprise of everyone present, the Zippleback obeyed. "N-now don't you make me tell you again."

Everybody watched completely astounded by the sight before them. Hiccup: the embarrassment of the village, the cause of half the destruction during dragon raids, the one Viking who no one actually considered a Viking; commanding a fully grown, two-headed Hideous Zippleback. Hiccup backed the dragon into its cage, still uttering phrases like "Get back" and "Yes, that's right". The Zippleback was now hiding in the corner of its cage, looking shaken and absolutely horrified. What no one saw was the yellow and black striped eel Hiccup had hidden under his fur vest. "Now think about what you've done."

He threw the slimy sea creature on the ground in front of the anxious dragon before closing the giant doors. Hiccup turned around to see everyone staring, absolutely flabbergasted, mouths agape and eyes wide. "Okay! So, are we done? 'Cause I've got some things I need to uh… Yep. S-see you tomorrow!" And with that, Hiccup rushed out of the arena without so much as a backward glance.

Snotlout was the first to speak up after Hiccup left. "Okay, I'm not imagining things. Everyone saw that, right?"

The rest slowly nodded, at a complete loss for words.

"Uh, then I guess trainin's over," Gobber said, shock still apparent in his voice and face. "Class dismissed?"

* * *

Over the next few lessons, Hiccup had suddenly become a dragon-taming master. Class after class he demonstrated unexpected skill and ease in taming each and every dragon he was put up against. And just like that, Hiccup was the village's newest celebrity; everyone crowded around his table whenever he visited the Mead Hall and instead of groans or griping, he was met with thrilled greetings and eager handshakes. It amazed Spitshot how fickle so many of the villagers were. But even she had to admit, she was impressed. She even found herself congratulating him on the job well done after a few of the training sessions.

The only person not impressed was one Astrid Hofferson. In fact she looked downright livid whenever Hiccup was able to reduce a terrifying, ferocious dragon into a placated mass of grumbles and purrs on the arena floor. The fact that some of the villagers were showing up at training to be a spectator because of Hiccup didn't bode very well with her either. But the thing that set Astrid off was something Tuffnut said one day after training with a Terrible Terror.

He rubbed his nose, which had just been the chew toy of the very small Terror. "Wow, he's better than you ever were…"

* * *

"Your brother is an idiot," Astrid declared.

Ruffnut rolled her eyes. "Tell me something I don't know."

Spitshot nodded in agreement.

The three girls were sitting in the grass fields just outside the village. Astrid and Ruffnut came out there to sharpen their axes with one of the many rocks that littered the ground. Spitshot noted with amusement that this was a favourite pastime of many of the female Vikings for reasons she couldn't explain. Because Spitshot didn't have an axe of her own she just brought with her one of her mother's. Truthfully she hadn't the foggiest idea as to what she was doing; she didn't have much practice in sharpening weapons

Spitshot wasn't sure what made Ruffnut decide to invite her to hang out. Just like most of the village the two blondes sitting across from Spitshot never took notice of her before. Astrid didn't seem to mind her presence though, or maybe she was too busy fuming to mind.

"But that Hiccup…" Ruffnut said, grinning.

Astrid shot Ruffnut a glare so intense it made Spitshot jump even though it wasn't directed towards her. "_Don't_ even go there…" she hissed.

"Aw, what's wrong with him? He's taking down dragons left and right. Besides," Ruffnut added, looking a little love-struck. "I've always found him cute."

"Right. The very same Hiccup who couldn't wield an axe to save his life. He was the biggest failure this village has ever seen. And now all of a sudden he's a dragon expert? I mean, just who does he think he is?!

"And he's so weird," Astrid continued to rant. "The other day while I was practicing in the woods, there he was carrying a bundle of …whatever it was he had to wherever he was going. And don't ask me where, because he just leaves before I could ask him. Completely disappears. And last night, when I confronted him…" Astrid shook her head, as if recalling something completely unbelievable and ridiculous. "I don't even wanna talk about it. The day I have a crush on Hiccup Haddock the Third will be the day I stop fighting dragons."

"Yeah… well... Good luck with that." Ruffnut turned to Spitshot. "So what about you?"

"W-what about me?" Spitshot had an inkling of an idea where this conversation was headed. And she didn't like it.

"Any boys in the village you have your eye on?"

"NO! No," she chuckled nervously. "None of the boys are really my type. _Especially_ not-" She quickly clamped her hands over her mouth as soon as she realized what she was about to say.

But it was too late.

"What was that?" Ruffnut leaned in closer as her smirk widened. "Especially not…?"

"N-nothing! No one, really."

"C'mon, you can tell me." Ruffnut nudged Spitshot's arm with her elbow. "We're all friends here, right?"

Spitshot almost responded with a confused "...we are?" but she kept quiet.

"Fine, don't tell me. But I know someone who might think you're his type."

Spitshot didn't even want to know…

Luckily Ruffnut's little game was cut short by Astrid abruptly standing up. "I can't take anymore of this talk about crushes and boys and other stupid stuff." She stalked off, axe clenched tightly in her hand.

"Hey," Ruffnut called out. "Where are you going?"

"For a walk." And Astrid disappeared into the forest without another word.

Spitshot and Ruffnut sat in silence for a few seconds. "I have to go too." Spitshot scrambled off of the ground and ran home before Ruffnut could continue.


End file.
